The chart for the 4th at Lone Star Sunday: “Perdido Star…was forced out further by the drifting leader clipping heels and falling near the 16th pole. It’s Time for Zima…ran into a stricken foe nearing the 16th pole and fell. Lady Q…ran into other rivals and fell in deep stretch.” Here’s how that looked. (All three horses were said to have “walked off,” but…)
Horses are prey animals, and as such are instinctively wired to conserve as much energy as possible so they will have the reserves they need to escape a predator. They are also instinctively claustrophobic, which is why so many repeatedly refuse to enter those low, narrow starting gates. By nature they are roaming herd animals, forced to live alone in tiny boxes for 23 hours a day. Honestly, the racing industry goes against every natural inclination and instinct a horse has – not that any of the parasitic dregs of humanity that swim in that archaic cesspool of abuse and misery care.
“Foes” and “Rivals”? Seriously? Ridiculous enough, but it is also harmful to perpetuate the notion that horses are competing with each other. They are not. They are forced to be there and forced to run.
I think the jockey of PERDIDO STAR was wrong to follow too close to the leading horse. Running a bunch of horses so close to together is an accident waiting to happen.
What terrible names! Horses do not fight on! “Bird of prey”. Horses are not prey animals & don`t fight on. As noted in a previous article horses don`t usually run for fun! Sometimes our Thoroughbreds will gallop strongly to escape biting insects such as gnats & wasps / hornets. When not grazing ours prefer to hang out behind the barn in the shade or by the cool water at their tank which we keep cleaned & full enough for us to drink. Dr. Janet Jones is correct. Have found very few horses who actually liked to run in our 55+ years of experience. Some young Thoroughbreds we taught to be ridden did like to gallop up a dirt path on the property we taught horses to be ridden at. A 3 year old galloped for the 1st time up the soft dirt hill kinda by surprise to us willingly & without us asking. Going To Get You Bill galloped for the 1st time up the hill with us ponying our 1st horse< Turk, at the time. That Texas track wreck is one of the worst we have seen! Like a car wreck on a highway. Can`t believe none of those horses did not have serious injuries.